When I'm Gone
by BlackLicoriceLipstick
Summary: What would you do if you felt that nobody would notice if you never came home? What would you do if you were proven wrong? Or proven right?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So first off, this is my first fic so no negative comments. Constructive criticism only please! The main characters of this story will be OCs, so if you don't like OCs you probably won't be very fond of this. These OCs are micronations and I will give a brief description of each so that nobody is confused.

OCs

1.)

Lilacia (a.k.a Lilliette Beilshmidt): Represents the Republic of Lilacia, small nation of about 100 square meters located between Germany and Poland (no relation to Poland, though they are friends), younger sister to Germany and Prussia, not independent, part of Axis during WW2, looks and acts mostly like Germany, though not as outspoken and controlling, but can still be obnoxious and "I'm Awesome!"-ish like Prussia when she wants to be. Best friends with Helen (other OC) and Sealand (though he will not be in this fic). Likes: Guns, cats, war, beer, quiet, fistfights, rain, snow, cold weather, friends, family. Dislikes: Being ignored, being treated as inferior due to age, loud noises (scared of explosions), when people act negatively towards her b/c she was part of axis, Cuba.

2.)

Helianthia (a.k.a Helen Braginski): Represents Helianthia, occupies about 125 square meters, located between Russia and Ukraine, younger sister to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, dependent, part of Allies during WW2 originally but defected and joined Axis in 1941, long blonde hair much like Belarus', wears sunflower headband and roller-skates often, acts sweet like Ukraine but can be psychotic and violent when angered much like her other siblings. Best friends with Lilacia. Likes: Knives, cats, vodka, Disney movies, roller-skating, sunshine and warm weather, friends and family (though they are not very close), small children. Dislikes: Unnecessary violence, being yelled at, nightmares, being ignored, being told how to do things instead of figuring things out on her own.

….. so yeah those are the two main characters. Updates for this story might not be incredibly speedy so please have patience. Also, again, constructive criticism only.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Lilacia (Lilli's) POV

January 5th, 1962:

I'm spending the day at Helen's again. I've been here every day this week, though I feel I might be overstaying my welcome. Her brother is not particularly fond of me. I think he blames me for Helianthia defecting and joining the Axis during WW2

Still, Helen doesn't seem to mind my being here, which is nice since I can't stand being at home lately. It's too quiet, and I hate the quiet. And when it's not quiet it's because my idiot bruder, Prussia, is drunk and rambling on about nonsense. Ever since he was officially dissolved in 1947 that's all he does. He doesn't ever talk to me. He doesn't even look at me anymore. Neither does Germany. Ever since that damn Berlin Wall went up last year, he doesn't even bother to give me the time of day, always shutting himself in his study or spending hours in meetings with his boss or training relentlessly nonstop. I don't think we've spoken in at least a week. I doubt they would even notice if I never came home. Sometimes I wonder if they even care about me anymore.

"Lilli?" Helen asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. I must have been thinking really hard because Helen is staring at me with a rather worried expression.

"Ja?" I ask.

"Are you okay, da?"

"Ja, I am fine." I reply, turning my head back to the television I was previously staring through. "Vhat are ve watching?"

"Cinderella," she responds with a sad tone, in obvious contrast to her usually cheery tone. This worries me quite a bit.

"Helen, is something wrong? You seem down." I ask

"I was just thinking about how Big Brother has barely spoken to me lately or paid me any attention." she replies, avoiding eye contact. She is having this problem too?! I had no idea!

"Have you tried talking to him? Perhaps zhis is all just a misunderstanding." I ask her, now also avoiding eye contact.

"Da, but he always just dismisses the subject."

"I understand," I reply, "Mein bruders do not even notice vether I am zhere or not. I have been here every day zhis week und not once has either of zhem asked vhere I have been." I rant, now looking her straight in the eyes. She opens her mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by her older brother entering the room and walking past without a glance in her direction. She immediately jumps onto her feet and runs in front of him.

"Big Brother, will you spend the day with me today like you promised?" she asks, giving him that cutesy-kitty-cat face she always uses to get what she wants. He simply stares blankly at her and dismisses her with a wave of his hand and walks off silently. She hangs her head and sulks back to where she was previously sitting next to me, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. She's never been as good at controlling her emotions as me."I don't know what to do, Lilli."

"Me neither," I reply "but something has to be done about zhis. Zhose jerks act as though ve do not even exist!" I shout clenching my fists angrily.

"Any ideas?" she asks desperately, suddenly back to her excited, bubbly self. I sit there with my face resting on my hand for nearly five minutes, trying to think of a way to see if our families truly do still care about us.

"I've got it." I say, snapping my fingers like I always do when I have a breakthrough.

"You have an idea, da?!" she asks enthusiastically

"Ja." I whisper "Okay, so our bruders act as zhough zhey do not care zhat ve are around. So, vhat if ve vere to…disappear for a vhile?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Lilli's POV

"D-disappear?" she stutters with eyes wide and her mouth agape. "What do you mean by that?"

"Think about it." I reply. "If ve vere to go missing, zhey vould have to find us. So, ve could hide out in your old clubhouse in zhe forest und if zhey come for us, zhen ve vill know zhey still care. Und if after one week zhey still haven't even looked for us….vell zhen ve have our answer don't ve?"

"And you think that will work?" she asks. I nod my head

"Unless you have a better idea…." I inquire.

She shakes her head 'no' and replies, " I do not, so I am in, da."

"Good, zhen get as much supplies as you can und meet me at zhe clubhouse at midnight." I say, standing up and walking towards the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" she asks from her sitting position.

"Vell to gather supplies of my own of course. I do not expect you to bring everything." I reply and leave without another word.

I close my eyes and breathe in the scent of the trees as I gradually trudge towards my house. I make a mental note of everything I will need to bring with me when I leave.

I spend the entire walk completely immersed in my thoughts, until I catch the first glimpse of my house, which brings me back to the real world. I've lived in this house for my entire life, well, excluding when I am at war. It might be a while until I see this place again, yet, I am in no way sad when I reach the front door and turn the knob. This house I used to call home now feels cold and empty, doubled by the silence that leaves my heart screaming and the part of me that is still a child wishing I could break everything in sight in a violent tantrum that would have to be acknowledged.

"Hello?" I shout as I enter through the front doorway. "I am home!" no answer…figures. I begin to search through the house, looking for any sign of a presence that is not my own.

I walk down the hall toward my bruder's study and begin to hear him shouting in our language, no doubt over the phone. I wait outside the door for what feels like an eternity, just listening, silently begging for the conversation to end so that I may enter the room. I know better than to interrupt. I am about to give up and just go to my room, but am stopped when I hear the words "auf wiedersehen" and the sound of the phone being placed back on the receiver. Finally

I knock on the door three times before entering. I clear my throat to try and gain my bruder, Germany's, attention. He doesn't stop writing on the paperwork on his desk. He doesn't even lift his gaze to me for a second. He simply makes a "hmm" sound and continues with what he is doing.

"Uhm….I-I am home." I stutter quietly picking at the ends of my shirt for a reason I am not quite sure. At this he stops working, but still does not lift his eyes to meet mine.

"And…?" he asks, obviously disgruntled by my interruption of his work, before continuing his work.

"I've been gone all day." I explain. "I thought you might have been wondering vhere I vas." I don't know why I am in here saying this. I know he hasn't wondered where I've been. I think I'm just clinging onto the last hope that maybe he hasn't completely stopped paying attention.

He finally lifts his head and his pale blue eyes meet my identical ones.

"Is there anything else?" he asks "I am very busy." It is now my turn to avert my eyes. And with that my last hope is crushed. I silently shake my head 'no' and turn my back, immediately hearing the resuming scratch of the pen across paper. I exit the room making sure to close the door before making my way down the hall to my bedroom, fighting the hot burning of tears in my eyes and swallowing the lump in my throat.

It is now 11:15 p.m. according to my watch. I tiptoe through the halls of our one-story house home with a backpack full of supplies, including clothing, food, an army knife for protection and $300 worth of emergency cash.

I cover my ears as they are assaulted by the sound of my oldest bruder, Prussia, snoring loudly, passed out drunk on the couch, the floor around the couch littered with empty beer bottles. I give up on tiptoeing and simply walk towards the door paying no attention to the volume of my steps. An earthquake wouldn't wake him up. I take in a deep breath and turn the knob as slowly as possible, pushing the door open carefully to prevent it from creaking loudly. With one final glance back, I step out into the harsh winter, expecting the previous burning in my eyes to return, but it doesn't. I turn and walk in the direction the woods are located with dry eyes and not once must I swallow the lump in my throat I wish I could bring myself to feel.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: First off, I can't believe how many views this has! I was SUPER nervous when I first posted this! And I swear when I saw that my story had a review, I almost puked a rainbow! Anyway, enough of my prattling. I will probably keep this story in the same POV, but I may change my mind later.

Chapter 3

My cheeks are red from the blistering wind and the tip of my nose is completely numb. I feel like I've been walking for hours, even though it's only been about 40 minutes. It feels like the temperature has dropped even more, though last I checked it was about 1 degree C. Its times like this I'm glad I know every inch of these woods or else I'd be totally screwed.

The silence of the woods is disrupted by the loud crunch of my snow boots against the frozen ground. I lift my sleeve up to my face to wipe the tears brought on by the wind and my heart skips a beat as my vision clears and I am able to make out the distant silhouette that is our clubhouse. At this all my fatigue is forgotten and I take off at full speed towards the sanctuary that will be my home for the time being.

"Lilli!" I hear as I burst through the door of the of the old shed-turned-hideout that I have been escaping to since we discovered it in 1946. "You are early, da!" I wipe my eyes once more and focus my vision to see Helen sitting in the middle of the clubhouse, surrounded multiple bags filled to the brim with supplies as well as what I assume is twelve sleeping cats, though I'd rather not count. I check the watch on my wrist and read 11:58.

"By two minutes." I reply. "Besides, you are early as vell."

"Da. I had to get my cats here before it got too cold." she states matter-of-factly. "How cold is it now?"

"Last I checked it vas 1 degree, but it feels like it has dropped." I reply with a yawn. As much as I love the cold, I have to admit it tires me the hell out.

"You look like hell, da. You should sleep." She tells me, letting out a small yawn of her own.

"You do not have to tell me twice." I reply and sling my bag off of my shoulder onto the floor before making my way to the giant beanbag chair in the corner of the room, plopping down and instantly falling asleep.

January 6th, 1962

'Where am I?' I think as consciousness creeps back into the corners of my mind. 'This feels so unfamiliar.' My eyes slowly open and memories of the previous night come flooding back. I turn my head and notice Helen sitting crisscross in front of the crankable television we always keep here.

"Vhat time is it?" I ask, checking my wristwatch before she has a chance to answer. 10:48 a.m. I slept for nearly eleven hours!? I never do that! Helen does not seem to notice as she is completely hypnotized by the program on the television. "Are you watching zhe news?"

"Da." she replies not once turning her head from the screen. "I am watching to see if they are saying anything about us."

"Anything so far?"

"N-nyet." she replies sadly, petting a particularly small kitten. "Nothing."

"Damn. Vell it has only been eleven hours. I am sure ve vill be all over zhe news by tomorrow!" I assure her, attempting to be cheerful, hoping to assure myself in the process. This seems to lift her spirits a bit.

"You are right, da!" she exclaims enthusiastically. "We will be out of here in no time!"

January 10th, 1962

I was wrong. We have been hiding here for nearly five days and there has been no report on the two of us. Hell, two fourteen year old girls gone missing, the press would be all over that if anybody got word.

I am holding up okay, but it is Helen I am worried about. Every day she loses a little hope. I can see it in her eyes behind her smiling face and happy tone. And I hear her cry at night when she thinks I am asleep. It breaks my heart to see my dear friend so depressed and pretending that she feels okay simply to try and make me feel better. And for that I am grateful. My family may be slipping through my normally strong grip, but at least I have Helen. I would be lost without her.

"And in other news, a severe weather alert has been issued. All citizens are advised to stay indoors for at least the next 24 hours." This jerks me out of my thinking trance and I turn the volume up to hear the television more clearly. "I repeat, a severe weather alert has been issued due to expectations of a blizzard that is sure to hit the area later tonight."

"Helen! Helen wake up!" I urge her to wake from her nap.

"W-wha?!" she croaks groggily "What is it? Have they come for us?!" She now sits up excitedly and whips her head towards the door, in hopes of seeing some search party or one of our brothers standing in the doorway. And, just like every other time, a little more light in her eyes is extinguished and she turns back to meet my gaze.

"N-nein, zhey have not…" I reply, breaking eye contact because I simply cannot stand to see the defeated look on her face. "But zhere is a blizzard expected to hit zhis area. I am wondering if ve should stay since zhis is not a very sturdy structure." She reflects for a moment, staring off into space in deep, deep thought.

"I want to stay." she states bluntly.

"Are you absolutely sure?" at this point I am willing to go or stay. I could care less what happens to me now.

"Da" she replies, pulling on her jacket in an obviously futile attempt to alleviate the bitter cold that will soon worsen and potentially end our lives in the midst. "If they are too distracted to make sure we are home while there is a blizzard going on outside, then we have our answer once and for all. I cannot stand waiting around here unsure any longer." I really hope we make it through the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

I squeeze my eyes shut and press my hands over my ears, but no matter what I do I can't shut out the rattling of the window and the loud creaking of the roof that I fear may give way any second.

"Lilli!" my eyes snap open and I realize that Helen is shaking my shoulder. "What do we do?!" her teeth are chattering like mad and her pale lavender eyes are ablaze with fear.

"I don't know!" I shout over the deafening wind that can be heard whistling through the loosening seams of the planks of wood that comprise the walls. "Zhis building is getting weaker by zhe second!"

I let out a small shriek and recover my ears as the light hanging from the ceiling is flung off its chain and flies into the wall, shattering to bits.

"Lilli, I am cut!" Helen shouts and I turn my head to see that, indeed, she is now attempting to pick tiny shards of glass from her cheek and forehead.

"Move your hands!" I insist, pulling them away from her face and prying the jagged bits out of her now bleeding flesh.

"Am I bleeding?"

"Ja, a little!" I can barely hear my own voice over the wailing of the wind. I search the floor of the shed for some sort of rag to soak up the blood. I end up settling and tearing the sleeve off of the outermost layer of my many long sleeve shirts and press it to her face. Her wounds have since stopped bleeding and the red liquid on her face has dried, though her tears of terror make it easy to wipe her face clean.

"Lilli…"

"Ja?"

"…I'm sorry." she hiccups. "We should not have stayed."

"It is not your fault." I reply, followed by an exceptionally loud creak as the rafters supporting the already breaking roof are beginning to bend at an alarming angle. Helen lets out a terrified whimper and crawls toward the corner of the room, burying her face in her knees and covering her head with her pale and most likely freezing hands and rocking back and forth.

I hear a loud, explosive shatter and cover my face with my double-gloved hands to prevent it from suffering the same fate as the now trembling Helen's. My hair whips around my face from the wind that is flowing in from the now gaping hole that once held a rattling window.

My heart is pounding so fast and hard that I can feel it beating in my throat and I fear it will stop any second due to overexertion. If I wasn't having a panic attack before, I am now.

I cover my eyes once more to avoid the stones, twigs and other debris that are now being hurled in through the window hole and crawl towards the corner. I rest a hand on Helen's shoulder. She must have been really out of it, because the second I touch her she nearly jumps out of her skin.

"The window broke?" she asks me through the chattering of her teeth that is now increasing in speed and violence from the radical temperature drop brought on by the arctic wind that is now seeping into the room.

"Yep" I reply bluntly. "Good thing all zhe snow is being blown to zhat side of zhe room." I point to the wall of the shed opposite that of the window that is now accumulating a considerably-sized pile of snow.

"What if it fills the room?!" she sobs

"Vell zhen ve are screwed." She sobs louder and leans her head on my shoulder.

"I…" she hiccups through her tears. "I wish they would have noticed and…*hic*….come to get us. Why….." she takes in a sharp inhale of blistering air that I assume feels like it is freezing her lungs from the inside-out. "….Why did they forget about us?"

I cannot respond. I don't know what to say, for I do not have an answer. I never did and now I feel I never will. I am completely in the dark, and I have been since the first time my bruders forgot to tell me "guten morgen", the moment they began to stop noticing me. And, for the first time since WW2, I let out a single tear of true emotion. It cascades down my face like a raindrop on a glass window so clear that one would not notice it was there except for the long, wet streams descending upon its surface, and I feel I am the window.

"Lilli…?" Helen whispers so quietly that I can barely make out her words. "W-will you sing to me?" I must search through every corner of my brain for something I might be able to sing to calm her down. I've never been too fond of singing so I find it kind of challenging to think of something, but I still try. After all, I cannot count all those times back in WW2 that Helen sang me Russian lullabies when I would wake from my nightmares.

I open my mouth to attempt to improvise a song but instead let out a terrified scream as the television that once served as our only connection to the outside world is lifted off the cold, wooden floor and hurled through the thin wall, leaving a gaping hole.

Another deafening creak interrupts Helen's terrified heaving, only this time it is followed by the deafening crack of the rafter breaking and what I can only assume is the roof on the other side of the shed caving in.

I am now suffocated by Helen's scrawny but strong arms constricting my chest as she hold onto me for dear life.

"I want to go home!" she screams out, her chest heaving violently. I sit there silently, letting her warm tears soak the sleeve on my shoulder. I want to go home too. We may be hurt by and furious with the people we share our homes with, but at least we would be safe there.

"Ja, I vant to go home too." I swear if we make it through this, I am going straight home and giving my bruders a piece of my mind. IF we make it through this.

"Lilli..." Helen whispers, now half-asleep. "I'm afraid we may not make it through this...but if we do...will you be my sister?"I squeeze my shut eyes tighter to prevent more tears from falling.

"Ja...ja I vill."

I rest my eyes exhaustedly and lean my head sideways so that it is resting on top of Helen's, completely ignoring her sunflower hairclip pressing deep into my cheek.

At this point there is nothing left to do but try to sleep and pray silently that we do not die in our sleep.

If the roof of a shed collapses in the woods and nobody is around to hear it, do the girls inside still get buried in snow?...Yes, yes they do.

…And all that's left is my heavy breathing.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

I don't know how long I've just been lying here, gradually losing more and more body heat. It must be hours by now because I am woken by the morning light peeking through the trees and shining through my eyelids.

I slowly open my eyes a crack to see that Helen and I are buried to our waists in snow and an entire half of the shed is caved in. How we slept through this I will never know.

I snap my eyes the rest of the way open and dig the bottom half of my body out of the snow and begin to dig out Helen.

"Helen!" I shout, shaking her shoulder with one hand and continuing to dig with the other. "Helen wake up! Ve have to get out of here!" she does not so much as stir. "Helen! Helen ve have to get home before ve freeze!" nothing….at this point, I have finished digging her out and. I am shaking her violently, desperate to get a response to let me know she is alive.

I don't even care how I look or what anyone would think, I am crying. No, not so much crying as I am a heaving, sobbing mess. I repeat "Helen, wake up!" more times than I can count. I eventually give up and break down. My best friend in the whole world is either dead or very near death. We have to get out of here. All Helen ever wanted was to be brought home, and I have to get her there. I will get her home.

I have been sobbing for a time I lost track of, sitting on my knees with my face to the ground. I slowly lift my head and notice the sun is a little higher in the sky. With great effort and difficulty, I press my hands against the ground and push, my body up off the floor. I slowly lift myself to my feet, my body weight now being supported by my exhausted, freezing legs.

I almost pass out as my heart nearly jumps out of my chest when I hear a soft shifting noise barely sound above the now much softer but still audible wind.

"Wh-what's…hap-happening?" I hear and I am once again blinded by tears, though this time they are from joy.

"Helen!" I shout. She does not move, nor does she respond to my voice. "Helen, don't get up. I am going to get us out of here." I am as gentle as I can possibly be as I bend down stiffly, feeling colder and colder by the second, and lift her bridal style. I walk towards the edge of the clubhouse and kick down what is left of the door then emerge from the pile of frozen debris that was once our hideout.

I begin to run as fast as my icy legs can take me, my teeth chattering like mad and the tears streaming down my pale, icy cheeks freezing my face as they travel. God, I wish we weren't so deep in the woods, I fear I am closer to losing Helen with every second passing.

"Who…..who is carrying me…?" I barely hear from the once assumed unconscious person I am carrying. "B-big Brother? Is that you?" I choke back the tears but they still seem to find their way back. She really believes that they came for us. After all this, she still had faith that our families would come. I let out an almost inaudible whimper that I am certain she did not notice in her semi-conscious, delirious state.

"J-" I stop for a second. "Da, it is." I correct myself. She lets out a small gasp that I would not have noticed if she was not pressed to my chest to conserve the little body heat that we still possess.

"I… I knew you would come." more tears spill out of my eyes. I know she will not remember this if she survives, which is looking pretty unlikely as I am now on the verge of collapsing, myself. And, if she dies, at least she would have died content.

I feel I am nearing the edge of the woods which, thankfully, are incredibly close to Helen's house. At this thought, I immediately take off full speed, though now my energy is draining like I pulled some invisible plug.

I stumble as I trip on a root protruding form the ground and a searing pain shoots through the block of ice that is my left leg, making me feel as though I am an ice sculpture about to shatter. But still I run, though I feel the pain nearly double with every step I take. I begin to see more light through the trees that are now becoming more sparsely clustered in the distance, which can only mean that we are nearing the end of the woods. My lungs feel like they are on fire as I gasp desperately for the frozen air, completely out of breath, but too determined to stop running.

I gasp audibly as my knees buckle and my legs give way from exhaustion, propelling me onto my back in the snow after dropping Helen's unconscious body onto the soft ground. I am again gasping for breath as I realize that I have failed. I want to turn my head towards Helen, but I am too tired and frozen to move.

All I can do is lay freezing, my hair stuck to my face and a continuous flow of tears falling from the corners of my eyes and cascading down the sides of my face as I stare into the blurry vision of the clouds and sky being blended together by my tears. I cannot tell how loud I am sobbing, but it does not seem to matter. Nobody knows we are here.

I am now incapable of holding my eyes open any longer and slowly lower my eyelids to eliminate the black dots growing in the corners of my vision. I guess this is it. I never thought I would go like this. I always thought I would die in war, in battle. I imagined I would die like a soldier alongside my allies and bruders…my family.

Instead I am freezing to death alongside my best friend who is now expecting the same fate if she has not already succumbed to it, and our families have no idea. If only things could have been different.

I feel it is time for me to go to sleep now. I am finding it more and more difficult to even form thought and I assume my heart is moving slower and slower with each beat.

The last thing I remember is the loud and obviously approaching crunch of snow boots, snapping twigs and crushing snow with every step, and the sensation of weightlessness that can only be brought on by the act of being lifted before I am no longer able to hold my consciousness and I sink into the dark and eerily inviting blackness that is a hopefully everlasting sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

My eyelids flutter slightly but I quickly re-shut them to alleviate the harsh artificial glare of a desk lamp shining light on my face. 'Am I dead?' I wonder. 'Is this heaven?' Oh God, is Helen dead too?! Let's see, what do I remember? Running…then tripping…then collapsing…then….being lifted? Was that me dying?! NO! No, I can't be dead!

I begin to panic and start to hyperventilate. I attempt to sit up but am stopped by a gentle yet firm hand resting on my shoulder and pushing my body back to a laying position. I'm not sure who it is as my eyes are still closed, but I cannot help but trust that whoever this is will not hurt me.

"Relax, you need to rest." I hear in a gentle female voice. "You are lucky you were found. You nearly froze to death." Wait…is that…

"M-Miss Ukraine?" I mumble and open my sore eyes slowly, my inquiry being confirmed when they meet her kind, deep-blue ones.

"Yes. You are safe." she replies with a soft smile. "You are at my brother's house. He is the one who found you two in the woods and brought you back here." Us two!

"W-Where is Helen?! Is she okay?!" I begin to sit up again, preparing to bolt out the door and tear through the halls in search of my best friend, but am again stopped by her hand resting on the same shoulder as before.

"She is okay, but still unconscious." she tells me with small tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"How long have I been unconscious?" I ask.

"About twenty hours now." She answers after a quick glance at her wristwatch. Twenty hours. So now it's been six days. I have been gone for nearly an entire week and my jerk bruders have yet to notice my absence.

Suddenly my blood begins to boil and I clench my fists in rage. How could this be true, damn it?! I am sick of always being ignored! No matter what, something is always more important than me!

"I have to go home." I state bluntly and climb out of the bed and onto my feet before I can be stopped again. I am about to go home and tell them off like I've wanted to do for months! I will not be forgotten any longer.

I bolt out of the bedroom, still wearing my clothes from yesterday that have since dried and stuck to my body, though I notice that I am now barefoot.

"Wait, you still need to rest!" I hear from the guest room I was previously sleeping in, but I ignore it and make my way for the door. I throw open the front door of the house and run outside without my boots on, but I don't care that my feet are now freezing and I begin sprinting across the front yard and down the street. My toes feel as though they are about to freeze off and I really regret not slipping on any shoes when I slip on a frozen puddle, falling face-first into a pile of snow that somebody must have shoveled off of their driveway.

I don't let this slow me down and in almost the same instant that I fall I am back on my feet, albeit soaked and covered in slush, and continue sprinting towards my house, which I can now barely make out in the distance.

All that I want to say, no yell, is racing through my mind and only now do I realize that I am crying. For how long I have been, I do not know, but it does not matter to me now. I do not care that I most likely look ridiculous running barefoot in negative degree weather, my face definitely swollen and red and streaming with tears.

I approach my house, wipe the streaks that are trailing down my cheeks, though they are instantly replaced, and run up the stairs onto our front porch before slamming the door open. I am surprised that it did not fall off of its hinges considering how hard it just hit the wall.

I stomp into the empty living room and am immediately greeted by the sound of guns cocking and my bruders rushing into the room expecting to see a criminal but they are instead met by me, dripping wet and barefoot with my teeth clenched and my hands tightened into angry fists at my sides. Their eyes immediately widen and they lower their guns when they realize I am their sister and not some thief.

"Lilliette, vhat zhe hell vere you doing outside?! It is negative-two degrees out there!" my bruder, Germany, lectures, the surprised look on his face now one of anger. Normally I would be a stuttering, nervous wreck like I usually am when he lectures me, but now I do not move a muscle and my rage is multiplied tenfold as it is now unmistakable that, indeed, they have no idea just how long I've been gone.

"Vhat vas I doing outside?! Is zhat all you have to ask me?!" I scream back. "I have been gone for six days! I hid in zhe woods for five days in a rickety old shed just waiting und waiting for one of you to come und find me! You did not even notice I vas gone!" I rant, now pacing the floor barefoot with tears literally pouring out of my eyes like a faucet. "All I vanted vas for one of you to prove zhat you still care enough to notice vhether I am around or not und you don't! You did not even think of me enough to make sure I vas home in zhe middle of a blizzard! I vas nearly crushed by a roof und I nearly froze to death trying to get out of zhat stupid forest because I knew you vere not coming to find me!" At this point I am completely out of breath, not to mention choking on tears.

I stop pacing due to my lack of breath and press my eyes shut tightly, expecting to be hollered back at for going off like I just did. Instead I hear the soft thump of a gun being set down and footsteps approaching me. I do not know who is walking towards me, nor do I care to open my eyes and find out. I do not wish to see either of them at this point. I feel a hand rest on my shoulder.

"Don't touch me, damn it!" I snap and whoever it is pulls their hand back as though my jacket sleeve has been dipped in hot, corrosive acid.

"L-Lilli…" I hear and instantly recognize the voice as Prussia's.

"Don't!" I shout "Just don't! If you do not care about me zhen I do not vant to hear a word you have to say!" and without giving either of them a chance to respond, I run to my bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it, then pushing my dresser in front of the door to ensure that nobody will be able to enter. I then rest my back against the side of my dresser, sliding down until I touch the floor, pulling my knees to my chest and burying my face into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. I hear someone try to turn my door knob, failing obviously, then a soft knock on the door.

"Lilli?" this time it is Germany speaking. "Lilli, please open zhe door."

"Go away!" I shout through the door.

This seems to get the idea across that I want to be left alone as I then hear a sigh and footsteps that get quieter and quieter with each one. I am not bothered for the rest of the day, giving me plenty of time to cry myself into exhaustion and eventually sleep.


End file.
